[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E383-E384]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO CONVERT THE FOURTH TEMPORARY JUDGESHIP FOR 
          THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII TO PERMANENT JUDGESHIP STATUS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 1, 2011

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce a bill that 
would convert the fourth temporary judgeship for the District of Hawaii 
to permanent judgeship status.
  The fourth temporary judgeship for the District of Hawaii was created 
in 1990 by Public Law 101-650. Although the judges appointed to 
temporary judgeships have lifetime appointments, legislation creating 
temporary judgeships usually specifies that the first vacancy in the 
district cannot be filled after a certain date. In the 1990 bill, this 
time frame was determined to be ten years after each temporary 
judgeship was filled. That meant that Hawaii could not fill a temporary 
vacancy occurring after October 2004.

[[Page E384]]

  Currently, the District of Hawaii has four active judges. However, if 
any of these judges become inactive, by taking senior status or 
otherwise, the district will not be able to replace that judge because 
of the ten-year limitation, which has long passed. This would place a 
great burden on not only the three remaining active judges, but also on 
the litigants themselves, especially civil litigants. Due to the right 
to speedy trial, felony cases regularly bump civil trials off the 
calendar, leading to long delays to get to court for civil litigants. 
Civil cases include disputes involving personal injury, civil rights, 
the environment, business, and other non-criminal matters.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on this and other 
initiatives that will address our need for additional federal 
judgeships across the country.
  Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much).

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